Contents. Contents The scheme and eligibility criteria Participating departments Confidentiality clauses... 4

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2 Contents Contents... 2 The scheme and eligibility criteria... 3 Participating departments... 3 Confidentiality clauses... 4 Marketing-related conditions... 4 How to apply... 4 How the process works... 4 Duration... 5 Further Information... 5 Annex A: Cyber Security Segmentation Structure

3 The scheme and eligibility criteria The Cyber Growth Partnership is a joint industry and Government group co-chaired by the Minister for Culture & The Digital Economy and the CEO of BT Group. The Partnership has been established to support the growth of the UK cyber security industry, with an emphasis on increasing exports. As part of the Partnership s work to support the growth of the sector, and at industry s request the government has developed a light touch scheme that enables UK cyber security suppliers to government to be able to reference this fact publicly, for example when pursuing business overseas. This has not been possible in some circumstances: for example some confidentiality clauses contained in government contracts do not always allow this. The scheme will enable companies to: Advertise the fact that they supply a cyber security product or service to the UK Government Use the Government s logo in marketing material Appear (if they wish) on a public list of cyber suppliers to Government on.gov website The scheme is administered by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS). It is intended to support UK companies in pursuing business opportunities worldwide in cyber security. It is open to all cyber security companies who have a current contract for the supply of cyber security products and services to the government, either direct or through a 3 rd party supplier such as a prime contractor. With the latter, subcontractors should respect commercial confidentiality arrangements in contracts and seek the prime contractor s permission to apply for the scheme. The Government is not responsible for checking that permission has been sought and agreed where an applicant to the scheme is an indirect third party in the contract. Participating departments The Ministerial government Departments participating in the scheme are listed at Wider public sector bodies such as the NHS and local authorities (local government, emergency & security services) are excluded from the scheme. Central government departments spend approximately 7bn a year on IT and cover a wide range of policy responsibilities which we believe should capture a good cross-section of UK cyber security capability. Applicant companies need only submit details of one contract with a government department to start the process and obtain clearance. If a problem should occur with that application the company might be invited to submit a second application covering a contract with an alternative government client. 3

4 Confidentiality clauses Applicant companies will not be considered to have breached Government contractual confidentiality clauses by submitting an application to DCMS. It is possible, though, that under certain circumstances disclosure will not be permitted for reasons of national security. Some contracts awarded by Departments already contain disclosure clauses and this should become more common in future. Companies who have been awarded contracts that permit disclosure might still wish to apply under this scheme so that they can be added to the list of cyber suppliers. Marketing-related conditions Companies cleared under this scheme are also able to use the Government logo in their marketing material to promote to potential customers the fact that they are a supplier to the UK Government. DCMS will provide details governing the terms of use of the logo. If the logo is displayed on the company website it could be linked to the list of suppliers mentioned below. It is important to note that this is not an accreditation scheme and the Government s clearance under the scheme cannot be taken or used as an endorsement of quality, of neither the product/service supplied nor of the company itself. Successful companies should not make such claims in any of their promotional material. As the scheme is voluntary in nature the government has the right to remove businesses from the scheme at any time. Also, should companies cease to be a supplier of cyber security products and services to government then they will no longer be eligible to market themselves as such. They should inform DCMS immediately if this is the case. Those companies will be removed from the list and will no longer be able to use the government logo. How to apply Applicants should complete the separate form. To enable the relevant government Department to identify the type of cyber security product(s)/service(s) being supplied, when completing the form please identify the relevant category/categories which best describes the product(s)/service(s) in question using the segmentation structure at Annex A. Please note, we do not require the details of the product/service, just the broad descriptor. How the process works The scheme will operate as follows: Applicant companies who currently supply cyber solutions to UK government (and want it known they supply to the government) should send the application form to the address indicated on the form. Your application will be acknowledged. 4

5 DCMS will act as the intermediary between industry and Government Departments although working closely with the Cabinet Office. DCMS will screen the facts supplied by companies and then forward the information to the relevant Department. The Department concerned will confirm to DCMS they are content for the applicant to be able to state publicly they supply cyber products or services to the UK Government. Applicants will not be able to state publicly which Department they supply or the product/service supplied. If the Department concerned has a difficulty in agreeing to the request an explanation will be provided to DCMS. DCMS will contact the company with the outcome and provide feedback. The names of the companies who have been approved under this process will be published on a publicly available list on the DCMS pages of.gov website. This will enable companies to prove to potential clients that they are suppliers to UK government. However, this is not obligatory and companies are free to not take part if they wish. The scheme is intended to be straightforward and quick, but depending on demand it may take time to obtain clearances from relevant Departments. Direct suppliers to government will usually receive a faster decision than those where third party suppliers need to be checked. Duration This scheme will run from March 2014 for the duration of the National Cyber Security Programme, currently due to end in Further Information Please contact biscybersecurity@culture.gov.uk for further information. Cyber Security Team, Digital Economy Unit, Department for Culture, Media & Sport, 100 Parliament Street, London SW1A 2BQ 5

6 Annex A: Cyber Security Segmentation Structure 6

7 Crown copyright 2015 You may re-use this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. Visit write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or This publication is also available on our website at Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills 1 Victoria Street London SW1H 0ET Tel: If you require this publication in an alternative format, enquiries@bis.gsi.gov.uk, or call BIS/15/551